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3.3 Use of Force Continuum (Alberta Provincial Use of Force Framework) & Proportionality

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Alberta Police Cognitive Ability Test APCAT

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1 Chapter 1: APCAT Exam Overview & Alberta Police Recruitment

1.1 Exam Identity, Eligibility & Alberta Police Hiring Process 1.2 Exam Structure, Timing, Scoring & Five Cognitive Domains 1.3 Strategic Test-Taking Tactics, Time Management & Eliminating Traps

2 Chapter 2: Judgment — Incident Prioritization & Situational Decision-Making

2.1 Life Safety Hierarchy & Emergency Action Prioritization 2.2 Officer Safety Principles, Tactical Awareness & Risk Assessment 2.3 De-Escalation, Tactical Communication & Persons in Crisis

3 Chapter 3: Judgment — Ethics, Discretion & Alberta Policing Standards

3.1 Ethical Dilemmas, Integrity, Conflicts of Interest & Police Discretion 3.2 Procedural Justice, Bias-Free Policing & Charter Rights Awareness 3.3 Use of Force Continuum (Alberta Provincial Use of Force Framework) & Proportionality

4 Chapter 4: Problem Analysis — Mathematics & Numerical Reasoning

4.1 Multi-Step Arithmetic, Metric Conversions & Speed-Distance-Time 4.2 Resource Allocation, Budgeting, Percentage Calculations & Crime Rates 4.3 Ratios, Proportions & Unit Conversions in Police Operations

5 Chapter 5: Problem Analysis — Deductive Logic, Sequences & Critical Thinking

5.1 Deductive Reasoning, Syllogisms & Conditional Logic Rules 5.2 Logical Sequences, Number Patterns & Alphanumeric Series 5.3 Information Ordering, Timelines & Incident Chronology

6 Chapter 6: Observation Skills — Visual Evidence & Investigative Comparison

6.1 Alphanumeric String Verification & Multi-Witness Statement Discrepancies 6.2 Diagram, Map Reading & Crime Scene Spatial Analysis 6.3 Physical Description Accuracy, Facial Features & Vehicle Identification 6.4 Matching Diagrams to Written Descriptions & Person-in-Disguise Comparison

7 Chapter 7: Written Communication — Grammar, Syntax & Police Report Mechanics

7.1 Objective vs. Subjective Language & Professional Police Report Writing 7.2 Sentence Structure, Run-Ons, Fragments, Comma Splices & Modifiers 7.3 Punctuation, Capitalization, Quotation Rules & Possessives 7.4 Police Vocabulary, Spelling & Commonly Confused Homophones 7.5 Official Item Formats: Spelling, Closest-in-Meaning Vocabulary & "Least Grammatically Correct"

8 Chapter 8: Learning & Memory Recall — The Pretest Study Booklet

8.1 Pretest Study Booklet Overview & 30-Minute Memorization Strategy 8.2 Memorizing Suspect Profiles, Wanted Bulletins & Vehicle Descriptions 8.3 Memorizing 10-Codes, Offence Codes & Municipal Policy Procedures 8.4 Form Memorization, CAD Log Recall & Post-Retention Recall Strategies

3.3 Use of Force Continuum (Alberta Provincial Use of Force Framework) & Proportionality

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

The Alberta Provincial Use of Force Framework (based on Canada's National Use of Force Framework) centers on a continuous threat assessment cycle: Assess, Plan, and Act.

Subject behaviors are categorized into five distinct levels: Cooperative, Passive Resistant, Active Resistant, Assaultive, and Grievous Bodily Harm or Death.

Officer response options span Officer Presence, Tactical Communication, Physical Control (Soft and Hard), Intermediate Weapons (OC spray, CEW, baton), and Lethal Force.

Criminal Code Section 25 authorizes officers to use reasonable and necessary force, with lethal force strictly limited to protecting against imminent death or grievous bodily harm.

Force must be proportional, necessary, and de-escalate immediately as subject compliance increases; every force application must be clearly articulated in operational reports.

Last updated: August 2026

3.3 Use of Force Continuum (Alberta Provincial Use of Force Framework) & Proportionality

Quick Answer: The Alberta Provincial Use of Force Framework (adapted from the National Use of Force Framework — NUFF ) is a dynamic, circular decision-making model based on a continuous assessment cycle: Assess, Plan, Act . Officers evaluate subject behavior across five levels ( Cooperative, Passive Resistant, Active Resistant, Assaultive, Grievous Bodily Harm or Death ) and select proportional response options ( Presence, Communication, Physical Soft/Hard Control, Intermediate Weapons, Lethal Force ). Under Criminal Code Section 25 , force must be objectively reasonable, necessary, and immediately de-escalated as compliance increases.

The Alberta Provincial Use of Force Model Architecture

Policing encounters are fluid, high-stress, and rapidly evolving. To ensure officer safety while protecting civil liberties, Alberta municipal police services utilize the Alberta Provincial Use of Force Framework . Rather than acting as a rigid, step-by-step staircase, the framework is a continuous, circular assessment tool centered around the situational threat assessment. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

  • | CONTINUOUS THREAT ASSESSMENT CYCLE (NUFF) |
  • +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
  • | |
  • | [ 1. ASSESS ] |
  • | * Situation & Environment |
  • | * Subject Behavior & Demeanor |
  • | * Officer Perception & Capabilities |
  • | | |
  • | v |
  • | [ 3. ACT ] <-----------------+-----------------> [ 2. PLAN ] |
  • | * Deploy proportional option * Tactical options |
  • | * Continuous de-escalation * Time, distance |
  • | * Medical care & report * Call for backup |
  • | |
  • +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

The Core Threat Assessment Elements:

Situational & Environmental Factors: Lighting conditions, weather, footing, confined spaces, crowd dynamics, proximity to potential weapons, availability of cover and concealment.

Subject Characteristics & Behaviors: Physical size, perceived strength, emotional/mental state, alcohol or drug impairment, threatening body language, clothing concealing weapons, known violent history.

Officer Capabilities & Perception: Number of officers versus subjects, exhaustion, tactical positioning, equipment available, reaction time, distance (the reactionary gap).

Subject Behaviour Categories

The Alberta Framework classifies suspect actions into five distinct behavioral categories . Officers must accurately identify the subject's behavior before and during any physical intervention:

Subject Category Behavioral Indicators & Actions Frontline Scenario Example

1. Cooperative Responds promptly and willingly to verbal requests; follows physical instructions; offers no resistance. Driver during a traffic stop produces licence and registration upon request without objection.

2. Passive Resistant Refuses to obey lawful commands through non-compliance or inaction without physical aggression or striking (e.g., dead weight, sitting down). Demonstrator locks arms with others or goes limp on the ground, refusing to stand or walk.

3. Active Resistant Uses physical actions to counter police control or escape (pulling away, running, stiffening arms to block handcuffs) without attacking. Shoplifting suspect yanks their arm out of the officer's grasp and sprints down an alleyway.

4. Assaultive Engages in hostile physical attacks or demonstrates immediate intent to cause bodily harm through strikes, kicks, wrestling, or brandishing weapons. Intoxicated patron throws a closed-fist punch at an officer's face or lunges forward with a broken bottle.

5. Grievous Bodily Harm or Death Conduct that the officer reasonably believes is intended or likely to cause severe permanent bodily injury or loss of life. Suspect charges at officers while swinging a machete, or draws a loaded firearm from their waistband.

Officer Response Options

Officer response options are tools, tactics, and force mechanisms deployed to achieve lawful control. Communication and de-escalation must accompany every level of response whenever operationally feasible: +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

  • | OFFICER RESPONSE OPTIONS |
  • +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
  • | |
  • | [ LEVEL 1: OFFICER PRESENCE ] |
  • | * Professional uniform, marked patrol vehicle, confident tactical posture. |
  • | |
  • | [ LEVEL 2: COMMUNICATION & DE-ESCALATION ] |
  • | * Verbal commands, persuasion, active listening, strategic tactical pause. |
  • | |
  • | [ LEVEL 3: PHYSICAL CONTROL ] |
  • | * Soft Control: Joint locks, escort holds, pressure points, handcuffing. |
  • | * Hard Control: Empty-hand strikes (palm heels, knees), grounding takedowns|
  • | |
  • | [ LEVEL 4: INTERMEDIATE WEAPONS ] |
  • | * Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) Spray: Inflammatory agent causing eye closure. |
  • | * Conducted Energy Weapon (CEW / Taser): Neuro-muscular incapacitation. |
  • | * Expandable Impact Baton: Kinetic strikes to major motor nerve points. |
  • | |
  • | [ LEVEL 5: LETHAL FORCE ] |
  • | * Service firearm, patrol rifle, or lethal force options. |
  • | |
  • +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Detailed Response Option Mechanics:

Officer Presence: The visible arrival of a uniformed officer and marked vehicle often alters subject behavior and deters unlawful actions without physical contact.

Communication (De-escalation): The primary and most frequently utilized tool. Includes crisis communication, establishing rapport, tactical boundary setting, and verbal redirection.

Physical Control:

Soft Physical Control: Techniques with a low probability of causing injury, including escort holds, joint locks, pain compliance techniques (pressure points), and standard mechanical restraint (handcuffing).

Hard Physical Control: Techniques with a higher probability of causing injury, designed to stop active resistance or assaultive behavior, including empty-hand strikes (palm-heel strikes, knee strikes to large muscle groups) and decentralized takedowns.

Intermediate Weapons:

Oleoresin Capsicum (OC Spray): Aerosol causing intense burning sensation, mucous membrane inflammation, and involuntary eyelid closure.

Conducted Energy Weapon (CEW / Taser): Delivers electrical pulses that override the sensory and motor nervous systems, causing temporary neuromuscular incapacitation (NMI).

Impact Baton: Extended steel baton deployed to deliver kinetic strikes to large muscle groups (quadriceps, common peroneal nerve) to stop aggressive attacks.

Lethal Force: The deployment of firearms or other weapons intended or likely to cause grievous bodily harm or death.

Legal Authority: Criminal Code Section 25 & Proportionality

The statutory authority for police use of force in Canada is codified under the Criminal Code of Canada :

Section 25(1) — Protection of Persons Acting Under Authority

Every police officer who is authorized by law to execute an arrest or maintain the peace is, if they act on reasonable grounds , justified in doing what they are required or authorized to do and in using as much force as is reasonable and necessary for that purpose.

Section 25(3) — Threshold for Lethal Force

An officer is not justified in using force that is intended or likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm unless the officer believes on reasonable grounds that it is necessary for the purpose of preserving the peace officer or any person under their protection from death or grievous bodily harm .

Section 26 — Excess Force

Section 26 explicitly dictates that anyone authorized by law to use force is criminally responsible for any excess thereof . Using unnecessary or punitive force subjects an officer to assault charges under the Criminal Code and civil liability.

Key Jurisprudence: R. v. Nasogaluak & R. v. Asante-Mensah

The Supreme Court of Canada affirmed that police use of force must be evaluated based on the objective reasonableness standard—judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene facing dynamic, fast-moving circumstances, rather than with 20/20 hindsight.

Comprehensive Use of Force Decision Matrix +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

  • | ALBERTA PROVINCIAL USE OF FORCE DECISION MATRIX |
  • +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
  • | Subject Behaviour | Primary Force Options | Key Tactical Objectives |
  • +------------------------+-----------------------------------+----------------------------+
  • | Cooperative | Presence, Communication | Direct voluntary actions |
  • | Passive Resistant | Communication, Soft Control | Gain compliance; escort |
  • | Active Resistant | Soft/Hard Control, CEW, OC Spray | Overcome physical evasion |
  • | Assaultive | Hard Control, CEW, Baton, OC Spray| Stop attack; secure control|
  • | Grievous Harm / Death | Lethal Force (Service Firearm) | Stop lethal threat / save |
  • +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
  • Articulation in Police Notebooks & Occurrence Reports

Every application of force must be meticulously documented and articulated. An officer must record:

Exact environmental factors and proximity to hazards.

Subject's verbal threats, physical stance, and muscular tension.

Perceived threat level and rationale for selecting the specific force tool.

De-escalation tactics attempted or reasons why de-escalation was not feasible.

Immediate medical assessment provided once control was established.

Key Takeaways for Section 3.3

The Alberta Use of Force Framework relies on the Assess, Plan, Act threat assessment cycle.

Subject behaviors range from Cooperative to Grievous Bodily Harm or Death ; force must match and de-escalate as behavior changes.

Criminal Code Section 25(1) authorizes reasonable and necessary force; Section 25(3) restricts lethal force to threats of death or grievous bodily harm.

Excess force is criminally prohibited under Section 26 of the Criminal Code; every force application requires detailed report articulation.